Santa's Workshop
by LightBloom
Summary: Terra never thought that working as a photographer in Santa's Workshop would lead him to the girl of his dreams...who just so happened to be one of the helpers.


**_Kind of late for a Christmas Fic, I know_.**

* * *

><p>Terra was convinced that no one could possibly hate his job than he did.<p>

Studying photography was looked like fun, and it seemed like a great idea at first. That is, until he realized that no one in the business world would take him seriously as a freshman unless he had a decent portfolio to back up his words; a portfolio that he didn't have yet. At least, not a very convincing one. People wanted photographers who took pictures of people; not still life. That being said, he couldn't exactly lie and say that this job had been his number one choice.

A crowd of screaming children ran between his legs and tripod, the heavy equipment attached to it threatening to topple over. Crying out despite himself (that was a summer's worth of salary and year of saving up his allowance going towards the ground after all), Terra scrambled to steady the expensive camera. Sighing in relief as it settled steadily by his feet, he relaxed. Of all the jobs he could have gotten stuck with, this was definitely the worst. He didn't even like kids.

Resuming to setting up his equipment, Terra sighed, ignoring the second band of children running past him and bumping each other out of the line in order to be first at meeting Santa. "A job is a job," he muttered under his breath. "And a job means a paycheck, which means food."

He winced as a loud shriek erupted from the mass of children and repressed the urge to run away. Where were the Santa's helpers—?

"Watch out!"

Terra yelped, reaching out to save the tripod and the force of nature that had threatened to topple all three of them over. Clutching them by the arm and tugging them up to their feet, he turned to snap at them, outraged. The wide blue eyes that met his though quickly soothed his anger and he instantly forgot why he was angry in the first place. His thoughts froze and his grip loosened enough for the girl who'd knocked into his to worm loose with an honest smile. "Thank you," She whispered gratefully, head bowed slights as she hurried off to the line. Terra watched in awe as she calmly ushered the children into a single file line. Watching her bring about order, he didn't realize how much time had passed by until the supervisor walked by and smacked him with a photo order, telling him to take the picture. Shaking his head of distracting thoughts, Terra turned forward and began his job; not before he discreetly managed to snap a picture of the girl though.

* * *

><p>"You're such a stalker Terra."<p>

Terra scowled, swallowing a chunk of his sandwich before snapping back, "Am not."

"I have to agree with Ventus on this one Terra," interrupted Zack defensively. "That is pretty creepy."

"Shut it."

Zack laughed, giving Ventus a high five. Ventus smirked, reaching for another handful of fries. Terra smacked his hand away. "Traitor," He muttered bitterly, tugging all of the fries towards him, ignoring Ventus's outcries.

"Don't be such a sore sport Terra," cooed Zack with a grin. "You aren't easily impressed after all—who was the last girl you had a crush on? Cinderella?"

Terra flushed. "I was eight," he replied hotly, Ventus gasping to his dismay.

"Did he really have a crush on Cinderella?"

"More like in love with her," Zack teased. Terra snorted. "Jerk. Some best friend you are."

"I'm the best you've got and you know it," Zack stated proudly, holding out his hand. "Now cough it up."

"What?"

"The picture; you said you took a picture and I want to see it."

"No—"

"Terra, I know everything about you since we were four; now cough it up."

Grudgingly, Terra reached for his wallet, his ears burning as he pulled the Polaroid from his wallet. Zack cackled along with Ventus. "How cliché!"

Terra huffed, watching his friends nudge each other teasingly. Zack was almost in tear with laughter by the time Ventus had taken the photo from Terra's hand. "Who would have thought Terra was such a romantic—"

"Zack"

"Yeah?"

Ventus gaped at the photo, speechless. His expression mirrored Zack's for a moment before the older teen whistled lowly. Ventus looked back up at Terra in shock. "Is that really her?"

Terra nodded; obviously pleased he'd made a good choice. "She's really pretty Terra," Ventus whispered, starring at it in awe. Zack nodded thoughtfully.

"Damn…I'd hit that—"

"_Zack!" _Ven's face flushed pink, voice squeaking in embarrassment.

Zack only laughed. "It's true! She really is pretty though Terra; she deserves better than a blundering idiot like you."

"Very funny," Terra muttered grumpily, snatching back the Polaroid and securing it tightly in his wallet again.

"She's gorgeous Terra," Ventus mumbled, still pink from Zack's earlier comment. "Too bad you don't know her name—"

"Her name is Aqua."

Zack frowned, reaching for his soda. "I thought you said that you didn't talk to her?"

"I…didn't…"

"…That's really creepy Terra."

"And we're back to stalker Terra," Ventus murmured, biting his lip and fighting a smile.

"_She had a name tag—"_

"I'm sure she did Terra, I'm sure she did…"

* * *

><p>"So, what made you get this job?" Terra asked casually, adjusting the lens to his camera. Aqua looked up from the paperwork in front of her.<p>

"Excuse me?"

"How did you get this job?" He repeated. "I don't mean to intrude or imply anything but you strike me as more of a department store salesgirl than a Santa's helper."

She giggled, straightening up and walking towards him. "I happen to like children. I volunteer at a preschool during the school year and since school is out for winter, I'm working here for the meantime." Aqua held out the papers towards him. "I'd love to chat more but I have to go back to the line. It was nice talking with you Terra."

Terra had to remind himself multiple times through the day that she only knew his name because the supervisor was constantly nagging him to take faster photo shots.

"Would you like to get lunch with me?"

Terra looked up in surprise, almost dropping his camera in shock. Catching himself, he nodded quickly, rushing to put the camera away. "Sure—just give me a minute—I need to put away my equipment—"

"Leave it out," called out Leon, his supervisor. "I need to make sure it's connected properly to the system. The photo prints are taking too long."

"A-Are you sure—"

"Go have a date Terra," grumbled the older man, pulling the kit towards him. "Everyone here knows you need one bad. Even the kids are coming up to ask if you finally found the guts to ask her out."

Flushing from his neck up, Terra resisted the urge to throw his camera at Leon's forehead. Angrily shoving the camera into his carrying bag, he stiffly walked towards Aqua, whom stood nearby and unaware of the conversation being held about her. "Let's go." He grumbled, grabbing her hand and leading her away. Confused, she looked back towards the small workshop. Leon nonchalantly waved their direction, eyes focused on the small screen in front of him.

"Terra?"

"It's nothing," he muttered. He ignored the fact he was blushing furiously by reminding himself that Leon was his boss and would be signing his paycheck later this month.

* * *

><p>"So you went on a lunch date with her?"<p>

"Yes—"

"Did you ask her out?"

"No—"

Zack groaned loudly, multiple heads turning his way in shock and disgust. Burning with shame, Terra looked anywhere but at his friend. "Zack," he hissed. "Please stop."

"No! You stop! You're hurting me!"

"Zack, I'm not even on break!" Terra muttered urgently. "Leon's going to be pissed if he sees me with you."

"Jeeze Terra, how hard can it be to ask a girl out?"

"It's not that easy you know—"

"Screw that; watch the Master." The noises of protest that Terra produced from his throat could only be identified as high pitched and pitiful as he watched Zack confidently waltz over to Aqua's side. Aqua was rearranging the knocked over present props, tidying up the area before the new group of children would arrive. Terra managed to keep his attention on Zack until he introduced himself, to which he took as cue to glue his eyes on the camera, supposedly fiddling with its lens. Time seemed to drag on forever, and Terra was beginning to realize that his façade wouldn't fool anyone if Zack took much longer when he heard Zack's distinct footsteps heading back towards him.

"I was too much for her to handle," Zack stated casually, answering Terra's unvoiced question. He laughed as Terra's scowled angrily. "Hey, don't give me that look! She said she was flattered but she wasn't interested in dating me since she likes someone else."

Shoulders drooping, Terra's expression transformed from irritated to downright depressed. Panicking, Zack waved his arms wildly in the air. "Wait a second—I said she likes someone else; that could be you Terra! Terra—Terra, are you even listening to me?"

* * *

><p>"What are your plans for Christmas?"<p>

Their lunch date had become something of a regular occurrence now, and while their conversations tended to be one sided with Aqua doing most of the talking, this was one of the few times Terra had been caught off guard with a question. He finished chewing his sandwich and cleared his throat. "I'm not sure actually; probably spend it with my friends watching movies. Why?"

Aqua smiled weakly, looking out the café's window instead. "I'm not from around here," she whispered shyly. "So my family is celebrating Christmas without me this year. I was just wondering if you would be fortunate enough to celebrate with your family."

"Why don't you come celebrate with us?" Terra began softly, taking her hand in his and reassuring her with a smile. "You wouldn't be imposing, I swear. Zack and Ventus wouldn't mind."

"It's alright; I don't want to be a burden. We should go back to work really get back to work Terra—"

"What were your Christmas celebrations like?"

Aqua hesitated. "Are you asking me this because you genuinely want to know or because you don't want to leave for work yet?" She asked, bemused.

"I genuinely want to know." Terra insisted, just happy to know that she hadn't pulled her hand away the whole time. "Please, Aqua?"

She chuckled under breath, shaking her head. "We had large parties, with all our friends and family. It seems loud and busy, but it was actually very nice. It felt good to be surrounded with friends."

"How many friends?"

"Many—do you honestly want me to recount every single Christmas party I've been to since I was ten?" She asked incredulously. He smiled angelically, nodding. She snorted quietly, hiding her smile behind her cup of vanilla chai latte.

"Terra, you're an awful liar. Finish your cider and get up; we're going back to work now."

* * *

><p>"Zack—"<p>

"No. No, no, no, no, double no, never—Stop giving me that look Terra, I said _no!_" Zack huffed, shaking his head furiously as he continued attaching his flashlight to his hip. "I'm not going to get _arrested_ for a _felony_ because you want to hook up with some girl."

"I'm not asking _you_ to commit the felony; I'll do it—"

"Terra, do you understand how absolutely _insane_ you sound right now?"

"Zack, please, I'm begging you." Grabbing his friend by the arm, Terra yanked Zack back a foot, glaring at him straight in the eye. Unimpressed, Zack stood his ground. "Zack Fair, I have been your friend since pre-school when you threw mud at my face and bit me in the arm. I have done nothing but follow your crazy hair-brained schemes my whole life, including the time when you thought it would be a good idea to try and serenade Aerith when she was having a sleepover at Tifa's and you almost died when Tifa pushed back your ladder. I am asking you for one psychotic-out-of-my-mind favor because only you would consider it at all."

Zack faltered, biting his lip. "I grew up Terra—"

"Liar."

"Terra," Zack began softly, pulling his best friends hands away from his arm. "Even if I did give you what you wanted, there's no promise that it would work out."

"I won't know until I try."

Silence fell, seconds feeling closer to hours between them until a wordless understanding came between them. Chuckling, Zack pulled out his keys and placed them into Terra's hand. "You're such an awful friend Terra," he muttered, turning back to buttoning up his uniform. "I can't believe you're convincing me to let you do this…"

"You're a great friend Zack—"

"Whatever; just go get your girl."

"Oh and before I forget—Zack?"

"Yes?"

"Could you do me another favor?"

"…might as well considering I'm allowing you to break the law…"

* * *

><p>Aqua struggled to hide her smile as Terra lead her by the hand, blindfolded and completely unaware as to where he was taking her. "Terra, could I take this off now?"<p>

"No, not yet—"

"Why not? Because we aren't there yet?"

"Yes—I'm surprised you didn't say 'what if there are cracks on the ground?'."

Aqua giggled. "It doesn't matter, I'm sure you wouldn't let me fall anyways."

Terra was suddenly grateful that Aqua had a blindfold on; otherwise, she would have seen him blush. Clearing his throat, he let her go momentarily and fiddled with the keys in his hand. "Wait a minute," he murmured, fumbling to unlock the door. It clicked. "Alright, follow me…"

"Terra, seriously," she muttered, carefully following his lead. She could hear her footsteps echo; they must be somewhere big. "Where are you taking me? It's Christmas Eve; shouldn't you be enjoying it with people you want to be surrounded by?"

"I am," he whispered back, smiling as he came to a stop. "Alright, you can take off the blindfold now…"

"I can? And here I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to call the police…" Aqua smiled, reaching back over her head to untie the blindfold. "Really Terra, what could you possibly have to show me that's so important it can't be put off—Oh my…"

Terra grinned, taking advantage of Aqua's silent shock and leading her by the hand towards the middle of the mall. A large group of their friends, a combination of Terra's friends and the ones they'd both made while working at 'Santa's Workshop', were already there, cheering and applauding as they approached. Aqua flushed pink, shuffling closer to Terra and smiling bashfully at the crowd. They had set up bright lights in a circle formation around the 'workshop', and had fake snow littered all over the hall; Zack was adding finishing touches to the small DJ stand while Leon was making sure that the equipment was working.

"Merry Christmas, Aqua!"

Aqua beamed, running from one person to the other, personally thanking each and every one of them. Terra smiled, looking at Zack and giving him a triumphant grin and thumbs up. Zack laughed, shaking his head. "You're ridiculous," He muttered, before turning towards Aqua. "It's Terra you should be thanking; he did this all for you."

Now it was Terra's turn to blush, everyone clapping for him and Aqua's eyes on him. "Did you really do all of this for me?" She whispered in awe.

Terra cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um…sort of…"

Aqua smiled, leaning up and pressing her lips to his cheek. "Thank you, this is wonderful."

He tried to ignore the wolf whistles and teasing calls from his friends, nodding curtly and averting her gaze. "Zack, let's just play the music and start the party."

"Oh, no thanks, I like this much better."

"_Zack Fair…"_

"Alright, Alright, I'm on it."

Aqua laughed quietly, leaning in and bumping Terra in the side to catch his attention again, ignoring the loud music playing in the background. "Thank you Terra, that was very sweet of you."

"You're welcome," he answered, swelling with pride. Taking advantage of his sudden confidence, he pulled out a small box, standing straighter. "Merry Christmas, Aqua."

Shuffling uncomfortably as she took the box, he cleared his throat again. "I was wondering…if you would like to go out with me sometime. Not on our general lunch dates, but a…"

"Real date?" Aqua finished, peering up at his with a faint shy smile. "I'm hurt Terra; didn't you consider all those times a date with me too?"

Terra gaped, at a loss for words. Giggling, Aqua took his hand and nodded. "I would love to go out with you Terra."

"But—What did you—I—"

"I caught you taking my picture the first day of work Terra."

Terra could _feel_ the heat coming off his face, eyes wide with shock. Aqua chuckled, pinching his cheek. "You should see your face," she teased. Breaking out of his surprise, he scowled, averting her gaze.

"_Why didn't you say anything?"_

"Because I wasn't sure if you liked me too or not," She answered honestly, smiling weakly and guiltily. "I'm sorry."

Terra huffed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the picture from his wallet. "Here, it's yours after all."

She shook her head, pushing back his hand gently. "No, it's yours. I want you to have it. I already have my present from you."

Terra smirked. "What, I don't get anything for Christmas?"

Aqua giggled. "Not at this rate," she whispered, looking past his shoulders. "…Terra? Who is that?"

"Who's who?"

"That boy, running down the hall; isn't that your friend, Ventus?"

Terra looked over his shoulder, and from the look on Ventus's face and Zack's paling face, he knew what was happening instantly.

"Terra! They found us! We have to get out; they're on their way!"

Complete silence over took the group, Zack glancing at Terra with a mixture of hate and fear on his face. The crowd erupted into panic, everyone scattering four different directions in seconds. Terra felt himself yanked away from the scene by Zack, grabbing Aqua before she was left behind. Zack was muttering a stream of curses, Aqua skipping to catch up with them from time to time.

"_I can't believe you convinced me to give you those damn keys!"_

Terra laughed loudly, unable to fight the grin on his face. "I thought you would have some common sense!"

"_Terra, I'm the afternoon security guard! If they find out I gave you the damn keys, I'll kill you!"_

Aqua burst out laughing, disregarding the flashlights waving in the air and sound of police feet hot on their heels.

This was definitely the best Christmas party she'd had in a long time.

* * *

><p><strong>Funnily enough, this whole thing started one afternoon while Christmas shopping, when I saw a handsome security guard, an unhappy photographer, and a young "Santa's Helper" with a bunch of kids. Oops, hahaha!<strong>


End file.
